Avalon by Lee Souleles

Debut novels are always a risk to invest time and money into reading. Not this one. Ms. Souleles has constructed a world of intrigue, love, and deception with detailed precision. Avalon was a captivating read I won’t soon forget. Keep writing, Ms. Souleles, you have a promising future.

NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author, Catherine Bybee

Avalon

*****Five Stars*****

Reader's Favorite 2013 Bronze Medal Winner for Romance

"Avalon is an enchanting novel that left me hooked and spellbound. Avalon is truly an amazing novel that you will love to read time and time again. I surely did!"

-Reader's Favorite-

Avalon

by Lee Souleles

It’s 1984, and Alex Wakefield is in Mexico, on a mission to avenge the death of his partner, DEA Special Agent Nicholas Locklear. Beautiful Sofíe Davis is an alluring complication he never expected.

Sofíe is on a mission too. Recovering from a failed relationship, Sofíe has come home, looking for direction as she plans her future. She’s hoping to reconnect with her family—especially her mother’s memory—before she returns to California in the fall. After four years of focusing most of her attention on a college education, Sofíe enjoys spending her days in a tropical Avalon. One sultry summer night she meets Alex, her cousin’s new business associate. Taking a risk, she asks the gorgeous guy to dance.

In the violent and corrupt world of Mexico’s emerging drug cartels, Sofíe and Alex forge an unrealistic pact. Soon they find love and heartache, and discover the true meaning for family loyalty and forgiveness.

Please note, this novel contains profanity, sex, and violence.

Music is my Muse. Below you'll find a link to my Avalon playlist on Spotify. Enjoy!

Reviews

While reading Avalon I was transported back to the ‘80s, a decade famous not only for its shoulder-pad fashion and the launch of MTV but also for the explosion of cocaine use in social circles. Souleles very effectively explores the rise of the Class A drug from the viewpoints of Mexican drug lords the Mendoza family, their innocent cousin Sofie and DEA agent Alex.

The world of drug smuggling is seen from the inner sanctum of the family and gives much better insight than the usual mob-boss-involved-in-the-occasional-meeting type scenario; here we get to experience the control that Ramon reigns over the family and see the fate awaiting a few of its members.

The drug cartel storyline entwines itself around a love story centering on Sofie and Alex. As their involvement in the dangerous family business begins to grow so do their feelings for one another and, as a result, the reader is treated to some fantastic inner dialog from both characters. Their troubled relationship is charted in a subtle, natural way that allows thorough explanation into the who, what, where and why. So if you like a romance with a dangerous edge, Avalon is the perfect read.

Charlotte Foreman, Bestchicklit.com

AVALON by Lee Souleles was a surprise read for me. I remember the 1980’s in Southern California very well. Too well! I could have been in college classes with our heroine Sofie! I was not really interested in revisiting some personal memories, but this novel opened me up to a world that I didn’t fully understand at the time. AVALON touched my heart in a profound way. It is a wonderful novel about family loyalty, forgiveness and love.

Sofie meets Alex Wakefield, an undercover DEA agent in Acapulco Mexico. She has returned to Mexico to heal from a broken heart. She is reconnecting with her large, wealthy Mexican family before she returns to California. Alex and Sofie are drawn to each other, but Alex has some big secrets. He is undercover to investigate her family. Alex needs to find out if Sofie knows about her family’s drug cartel. Their relationship is as hot as a sultry night in Mexico! Mixing business with pleasure is risky and someone is bound to get hurt.

The parts of the story that I loved the most were the descriptions of Mexico and its rich culture! The readers are shown both its beauty and its harsh poverty. All of the characters are so dynamic and they came alive for me. There are even some great life quotes sprinkled throughout the novel that I had to highlight! One that I loved was this life advice from her favorite Tia: “We’re each the captain of our own ship, not the master of the seas..……Life will bring the hurricanes, don’t go searching for rough weather”. The writing is poetic and the story is so rich and meaningful. I never thought that I could enjoy reading about America’s war on drugs, but I was wrong. AVALON was a very fulfilling read. I highly recommend it.

Jules/thereadingcafe.com

READER REVIEW:

Just finished reading Lee Souleles’s new book, Avalon. Ordinarily, I would never, ever read a Romance Novel. However, the girl on the cover was so captivating I had to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by both the story and Ms. Souleles’s depth of historical knowledge. I characters became alive and I actually began to care for them. That alone, was more than I expected from my first Romance Novel.

Sex, I guess, is supposed to be a big part of the genre and did not disappoint. Just raunchy enough, without going too far. I’m recommending this book to a male friend of mine who just might find it to hit very close to home {Steve Barron}